Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD)
Brattleboro, Vermont
Board of Supervisors Meeting
Via Zoom and In-person
Draft Minutes of December 9, 2021
Members Present: In-person/Zoom Michelle Cherrier, Chair, Dummerston; Patrick Moreland, Vice Chair, Brattleboro; Dan Toomey, Putney; Lewis Sumner, Halifax; Doris Knechtel, Newfane; Stephan Chait, Halifax Alternate; Russell Hodgkins, Westminster; Jim Damato, Readsboro; Merrill Mundell, Wilmington; Irv Stowell, Townshend; Nancy Meinhard, Wardsboro; Dan Towler, Brookline; Greg Meulemans, Jamaica; Stillman Vonderhorst, Marlboro.
Members Absent: Rickey Harrington, Somerset; Kent Young, Stratton; Michael Becker, Guilford; Kevin Stine, Dover; Sandra Rulewich, Vernon.
WSWMD Staff Present: Robert Spencer, Executive Director; John Fay, Programs and Operations Manager; Vicki Hayes, Office Manager/District Clerk.
Vicki performed a rollcall to confirm the attendance, Michelle announced that the meeting is recorded and is a public record and available to anyone.
As a quorum was present Michelle called the meeting to order at 7:01 P.M.
- Changes and/or Additions to the Agenda: None
- Approval of Minutes from November 11, 2021:
Motion to accept the minutes of November 11th as written; made by Jim, seconded by Lewis. Motion carried. Nancy Abstained.
- Approval of Check Register- November 2021: Irv asked about Check Numbers 28887, and 28892. Bob explained that Vicki was reviewing the contracts and discovered we were being billed incorrectly by Triple T Trucking and Brattleboro Salvage, and that we contacted them with the correct billing information, and we owed them approximately $6,000.00. Patrick complimented the staff on doing the ‘right thing.’
Motion to approve the Check register for November 2021; made by Patrick, seconded by Merrill. Motion carried.
- Approval of Financial Statement- November 2021: Vicki reviewed the highlights for the month.
There was no further discussion.
Motion to approve the Financial Statement of November 2021; made by Jim, seconded by Irv. Motion carried.
- Consider Comments From the Public Hearing of FY 23 Budget: As there were no comments from the Public Hearing the approval of the FY23 Budget from November 11, 2021 stands.
Motion to reaffirm the approval of November 11th, 2021; made by Jim, seconded by Doris.
Motion carried.
Vicki will send out the Approved FY 23 Budget and Assessment to the Selectboards and Supervisors next week.
- Consider Increase of Tire Recycling Fees: John reviewed the fee spreadsheet. Bob explained that the increase goes into effect January 1st, which means that the District will lose money on tires if we wait until April to review the fees. Patrick agreed that if the prices to recycle are increasing we don’t want to lose money on the commodity. Patrick also asked about how the percentage of overhead was determined. Jim asked about the potential for the District to store tires for one spot pickup. Bob said that hasn’t been determined yet.
Jim asked if we would get a discount on disposal pricing if we stored tires and Bob said that hasn’t been decided. Merrill felt we should just accept the shortfall until April. Patrick felt it should be put in place and reviewed in Spring. Dan Toomey asked if we have any other vendor options. Bob explained that we are limited.
Merrill and Russ felt that we should be cognizant of any impact on farmers with these price points.
Motion to accept the tire fee increases with further review in spring; made by Jim, seconded by
Doris. Motion carried with one opposed.
- Consider Reduction in Number of Board of Supervisors Meetings: Merrill opened the discussion by stating that in the past oversight was needed in the District, and that Supervisors may forget the meetings and attendance could drop off, he was against the reduction. Jim agreed with Merrill but asked if it was possible for the Chair to cancel meetings not needed. Michelle said she would investigate it but believed it was possible. Patrick also expressed fear that the Supervisors would lose interest if meetings were cut. Dan Towler was concerned about the amount of staff time needed for these meetings. Michelle suggested a reduction to 8 meetings, Doris disagreed.
Motion to keep the number of meetings to 10; made by Jim, seconded by Irv.
Further discussion highlighted the possibility of hiring a Clerk to free up staff time, or perhaps having less on the agenda, some things don’t need to be reviewed every month. Keep the Programs/Operations Manager report and the Executive Director report to bullet points and allow the Board to ask for further information. In order to give this more thought it was decided to readdress this at a future meeting.
Jim and Irv agreed to withdraw the motion and table the issue till April.
- Town Website Trash & Recycling Information Project: John reported that the Summary of Services tailored to each town has been sent out to the Selectboards. Only a few have made it to the town websites. John asked for assistance from the Supervisors to get these posted, perhaps to contact the webmasters and get their help. John will resend the summaries to the Supervisors next week.
- Programs & Operations Manager’s Report: John reported that the new website is up and he and Anita are cleaning up links and other disconnects. He mentioned that Evans had finished our asphalt work and it looks good and is working nicely. John also talked about a paper baling project to help out C&S and worked with Save That Stuff for recycling at a good price. John is also working with Allard Lumber on some hazardous waste barrels, he is coordinating with the vendor to assist Allard in disposal. Jim inquired about winter closing of the HHW Depot. John explained the difficulty with collecting during the winter. John also discussed the new USDA grant and that he, Bob, and Alex have been visiting Transfer Stations.
- Executive Director’s Report: Bob sent out the draft Annual Report to the Board. He asked for input and will be sending the final version to the Towns next week. Bob also talked about the flare and that it is no longer working regularly, and the gas output is minimal. He is seeking an approval to discontinue use from the State. He has also been working on two new USDA grants which need to be submitted by the end of the month. Bob is expecting to meet the new Brattleboro Town Manager next week. He will be visiting the District with Patrick.
- Executive Session (if needed): None
- Next Meeting: Thursday, January 13th @ 7 PM.
- Other Business: None
- Adjournment: 8:07 PM.
Minutes prepared by
Vicki Hayes
Office Manager/District Clerk